A total of 15 Bangladeshi fishermen who were stranded in India following a storm have been repatriated through the Benapole border after nine months.
India's Petrapole Immigration handed over the fishermen to their Bangladeshi counterparts around 7pm on Friday.
The fishermen are residents of the Barguna and Pirojpur districts.
Police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from both countries were present at that time.
On August 18, 2022, the fishermen were caught in a storm while netting fish in the Bay of Bengal.
Suddenly, their trawler's engine went out of order during the storm, and they ended up drifting into Indian waters.
After spending 36 hours adrift at sea, they were rescued by Indian fishermen, who handed them over to the Indian Coast Guard.
The Indian Coast Guard detained the fishermen on charges of intrusion.
Later, the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata took the initiative to send them back.
Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of Benapole Port police station, said the fishermen were handed over to their families after due procedures.
